Colorado Bomb Expert Says Devices Are Easy To Make
DENVER (CBS4) - It's now known what kind of bombs were used at the Boston Marathon. But who made them and why are the questions the FBI and other law enforcement agencies are trying to answer.
The devices consisted of a metal pressure cooker containing BBs and possibly nails. They were placed in a dark covered bag. The task now is to trace the parts back to the bomber.
The bombs were made to look like discarded property in duffle bags. One may have been in a trash can, the other on a sidewalk.
Joe Dempsey is a former commander of the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Bomb Squad.
"If you can read, you can make a bomb, and we used to keep this Information closed to the community, but with the Internet today, it's available to everyone," Dempsey said.
It's hard to determine who would commit such an act as the marathon bombings. In one issue of the al-Qaeda magazine "Inspire," there's an article entitled "Make A Bomb In The Kitchen Of Your Mom." it suggests using a pressure cooker. But international terrorism author Ved Nana says it could be the work of a domestic terrorist or group.
"There are plenty of these groups and extremists and I think we do not have, at this stage, the intelligence that we need either to find out and be able to identify either domestic or international terrorists," Nana said.
He points out the attack occurred on Patriot's Day, a day of significance in Boston. The Oklahoma City bombing carried out by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols was a domestic act aimed at the U.S. government. While Najibullah Zazi of Aurora's plan to bomb the New York subway system with backpack bombs was foreign based and was cut short with his arrest.
Nana said it's not just meant to kill and wound.
"It is done in order to make a point," he said.
The message in this case is not clear.
A Saudi man who was reportedly tackled by spectators and police while running from the bombing scene and whose home was searched is now being identified as a witness rather than a "person of interest."
